December 3, 2017

The MAP AGM was held Nov. 25 at the Community Hall where Lisa Baile treated us to an inspiring slide show of their recent trip hiking the mountains of the Coastal Ranges. Following her presentation we dealt with the administrative portion of the meeting, with a refresh of our board of directors and updates to our bylaws. The MAP board for 2018:

November 20, 2016

For anyone coming in from the new bus website itself this may look a little funny but for anyone else reading this blog, we now have a dedicated website at penderbus.org ! Thanks Thomas for all your hard work on this 🙂

August 25, 2016

You won’t want to miss this one! Watch for the grand opening of Monty’s Trail at the Pender Fall Fair on August 27. Karl and Hedi Hamson in their always generous way have allowed MAP to construct a modest trail across their property. In fact, Karl did a huge amount of the work on this trail himself, including building the very first stile on Pender. The stile allows walkers to get over the fence while keeping Karl’s sheep within the field. There’s even a ‘dog door’ to accommodate small dogs. The trail is named after Hedi and Karl’s large, enthusiastic Labrador Monty, known to many of you for his wandering ways. Monty’s trail [dogs on leash please—except for Monty!] starts at the back of the Community Hall, winds through the woods and exits just across the road from the Auchterlonie Centre, and is a delightful and safe alternative to using the road.

This is MAP’s first trail and it is especially special because it is on private land.

MAP has a long term vision of creating interconnected walking and biking trails on Pender to allow us to leave our cars at home, and enjoy nature while keeping ourselves and the environment in good shape. One way to help achieve this is to have some trails on the private property of community-minded land owners. This is now realistic because MAP has collaborated with trail societies on the other Southern Gulf Islands to purchase liability insurance for landowners who agree to allow such trails on their land.

Coming Soon. Watch for the extension of MAP’s trail system which, thanks to careful work by Ron Henshaw, will connect the Community Hall to the Farm Stand, via Valley Home Farm on Linda and Don Wein’s property. Way to go Don and Linda! Thanks to their generosity you will soon be able to avoid walking on that traffic-laden stretch of road. Both Monty’s Trail and the Valley Home Farm trail are on agricultural land and the owners obtained permission from the ALC to construct these trails.

June 14, 2014

The summer season on Pender is an important part of our economy, with most island businesses dependent on the increase in visitors to our bit of paradise. I know I’m not alone though when I look forward to the quiet days of early fall! I think for myself and many others that the greatest drawback of summer visitors is the increased traffic on the roads and the lack of parking. Rather than attempt to solve this problem with more asphalt, let me paint a picture of an alternative …

It is summertime, and your family has been pestering you to go visit Pender again. You live on the Saanich Peninsula and while summer days on Pender were an enjoyable part of your childhood, rising gas prices and ferry fares have made this a rare extravagance for your kids. Fortunately, now there are some choices. You and your family board the bus for Swartz Bay and get on the Saturday morning ferry for Pender. It’s mostly running on time today and you meet the Pender Community Bus at the other end. For a donation, the friendly driver takes you all to the Nu-to-yu which has just opened with all the great deals you remember. After browsing for treasures you take a short walk up to the Community Hall along a roadside path. The Farmers Market is in full swing, with lots of treats, fresh vegetables and handicrafts. Feeling rather flush (after you only spent a dollar at the Nu-to-yu!) you treat the family to some pastries and relax by the lounge on the deck. As the market wraps up you strike out with the family again, heading south along a path over private land that had been negotiated under the new GITS agreement (see the May 2014 Pender Post article). It is a pleasant stroll alongside the farmers fields and soon you arrive at the corner of Bedwell Harbour Rd. Turning right, you now proceed along the Einar’s Hill Bypass, a public trail which follows the right of way down a gentle slope through meadow and trees. Reaching the edge of the airstrip, you pause to look for traffic, but today the only flyers are a group of Canada geese browsing beside the pond. You continue onto the boardwalk that skirts the edge of the pond, through the fragrant skunk cabbage and hear a splash to your left. Maybe it was a beaver ? The kids look intently but the only evidence are some gnawed tree trunks … next time perhaps. As you continue along the trail you go up a rise and meet a couple of cyclists heading north. They have chosen the bypass to avoid the steep hairpin turn on the road, a tricky spot to negotiate. Continuing through the cool greenery of second growth forest, you pass through a section of the national park reserve then follow an old logging/access road past another pond to the Driftwood Centre. The return trip of the Community Bus isn’t scheduled for a while, not a problem with all the opportunities to shop or just sit by the cafe and enjoy the afternoon. Maybe the thought of the beach at Browning attracts you and you cross the road to follow the Hamilton trail down to the shore … a beer on the deck at the pub perhaps ? Or perhaps second thoughts about that almost new lamp at the Nu-to-yu make you decide to wander to the car stop opposite and catch a ride back north before the store closes. Either way, by the time you are all on the ferry heading back to Swartz you will have had a full and satisfying day out, all without using your car !

Naturally, the above scenario is not yet a reality but if this sounds like the sort of project you’d like to support, come on out the the next MAP meeting (usually 1st Saturday, just after the market on the deck beside the lounge).